The Stranger on the Hilltop
by MyTigerNacho
Summary: Silver eyes met blue.
1. Chapter 1

Muzaka ran, lungs and muscles burning. He poured all his energy into increasing his speed. He didn't so much as spare a moment to glance at the others. All his senses were focused on the top of a nearby hill, the tall oak tree at its summit acting as a guiding beacon. He didn't look where he placed his feet, allowing his instincts and experience to find the best footing.

As the land began to slope sharply upwards he flattened his ears as far as they could go. His panting increased with the incline. This hill was precarious. The angle was steep, the dirt was loose, and the small rocks shifted easily and unpredictable beneath his paws. His lips peeled back at the challenge.

He dug his hind legs into the ground, surging toward the hilltop, the finish line. He expertly avoided the rabbit holes and unstable ground by leaping from the boulders that littered the side of the old hill, a feat no ordinary wolf could achieve. He was almost there! He zeroed in on a large boulder positioned right below the crest of the hill. Using that he could make it to the top!

He leapt nimbly onto the boulder and could practically hear his victory howl already. He looked down to determine the most sensible landing position among the pebbles that covered the hilltop.

His silver eyes met startled blue.

-!

He twisted his body in midair so as not to collide with the stranger on the hilltop.


	2. Chapter 2

Muzaka landed heavily on the crest on the hill and felt his back paws slide out from underneath him. He slid several feet down the side of the hill before coming to a halt against the very boulder he had leapt from.

He blinked three times in rapid succession as he heard his fellow werewolves arriving around him. He stood up quickly, shaking himself off in the process, and worked his way to the top as well.

Zaiga was sitting at the base of the tree, panting heavily. Garda was lying on the ground with Zara standing next to her. Maduke, who had apparently won their race by being the first to reach the top, was howling. He himself had been consumed by the race moments before, but now his mind only registered one thing.

There was no one else on the hilltop.

"What happened to you, Muzaka? You were in the lead! I can't believe you were so careless as to just slip off a rock like that," Zara half-gasped, still fighting to catch her breath. She was as outspoken as Garda was mild, but Muzaka barely registered her question.

He loped around the edge of the hill, eyes scanning the hillside for a fleeing figure in the distance.

He saw none.

"Muzaka!" Zara barked loudly. He turned his head slightly in her direction as he continued to look around the hill.

"Hmmm?" he answered vaguely.

"What are you looking at?" she asked impatiently as she parked herself in his path, blocking his way.

He turned, now sniffing the ground and frowning. "There was a human up here," he explained. "Her eyes were blue and her hair was white. I nearly jumped on her, but now I don't know where she went."

A single bark of laughter caused his tail to stiffen. Maduke. He struggled to keep his breathing even as he felt his anger rising. The smallest things Maduke did had a way of bringing forth his short temper.

Zaiga spoke up next. "A human? Here? Do you really think a human female could climb to the top of this hill? At least have some dignity in your loss, Muzaka."

Muzaka whirled toward him, lips pulled back to reveal impressive canines as he stalked toward the other werewolf. "Are you saying I'm lying, Zaiga?"

There was silence on the hilltop except for the rustling of leaves overhead.

Zaiga glared sullenly before averting his eyes.

"There was someone here," came Garda's calm voice.

All thoughts of Zaiga and Maduke disappeared from his mind as he ran the short distance to where Garda was standing. She stepped back as he approached, allowing him to smell the ground where she had just been standing.

She was right, he _could_ smell something. But it was very, very faint and... what _was_ it? It didn't smell like a human, not really. Humans left a strong scent wherever they went. It certainly hadn't been a werewolf. A Noble, perhaps? There weren't any other kinds of beings, and as Zaiga pointed out, it would have been hard for a human to make it up this treacherous hill. So it _had_ to have been a Noble.

Right?


	3. Chapter 3

Muzaka laid on his back right next to where he had smelled the strange scent, arms behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. He had always enjoyed stargazing. The oak tree's branches covered most of the sky, but he could still see some stars through the leaves.

The others had departed hours ago. None of them had been as interested in the stranger as he was, nor did they believe that the stranger would return. He honestly didn't believe she would either, but tensions were running high between himself, Maduke and Zaiga, so he had decided to remain here for a little while so as to avoid any further conflict.

It wasn't like he needed to be anywhere, and this was as nice a place as any to spend some time.

The stars wheeled overhead as the night progressed. This island was one he had never travelled to before, so the positions of the stars were new to him. He smiled softly to himself.

Dark clouds began to form overhead as the wind picked up, blowing the stranger's scent toward him. Had she really been a Noble? He had never met a Noble before, so it wasn't like he had anything to compare her to. And what would they have been doing on this island anyway?

…. This couldn't be the Noble's homeland, could it? He shook his head, quickly dismissing the thought. No, he seriously doubted that was the case. If it were, why had no one come to investigate why five werewolf warriors were on their land?

The clouds above thickened, blocking out the stars. In the distance he could see flashes of lightning, though it was too far away for even his hearing to pick up the thunder. It probably wouldn't rain here then, not for a couple of hours at least.

A nearly full moon was sinking lower in the sky opposite the storm clouds, its soft glow providing the only light on this otherwise black night.

The wind buffeted the leaves above and the scent was brought to him again, stronger this time. It frustrated him that he did not know who the scent belonged to, that he had _seen_ her and yet was unaware of her identity. What was she? Who was she? What was her name? Why had she been on this hilltop? Why did she run? Where did she go?

So many questions and no hope of answers.

The storm crept closer, the frequent lightning now providing light as well.

He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them wearily. Two stars above him kept winking in and out of sight. Perhaps the clouds were breaking up, though the ferocity of the storm seemed to negate this possibility.

A flash of lightning illuminated the stars again.

…. Odd.

He sat up, closely watching the slice of sky he had seen the stars.

Another flash and his eyes widened. He leapt up and into the tree, coming to rest on a branch not too far from the ground.

His startled silver eyes met the blue eyes of a white fox, a white fox with nine tails.

He stared, mouth agape, for a full minute. Then he smiled. "Hello, stranger."

Her soft peal of laughter rang out for a moment before the storm broke around them.

 **-xxxxxxx-**

 **A/N:** I have stuff I probably should be writing, and yet, this lol. For those wondering, she's a kitsune, a Japanese Yokai, and no this isn't a Naruto reference or anything lol. Kitsune are foxes that can take the shape of humans (usually women) and are said to have extended life-spans, superior intelligence and supernatural powers. Generally the more tails a kitsune has the older, wiser and stronger they are. Nine tails is the most, and when they reach nine tails (one tail every hundred years seems to be the general consensus) they turn white, hence the character above.

Zara is a character I made up, not a canon character.

The island he's on is an island in Japan.

Not sure about Kitsune, but I do know that artic foxes are sometimes called snow cats, because they can and do climb trees, a fact I find endlessly fascinating ^-^ so I'm mixing fantasy and reality here lol

This idea has been bumping around in my head for months, because I think Kitsune would be a cool addition to the Noblesse Universe :) I have a name and something of a backstory for her, but I just wanted to post this and get it off my chest while my muse was around. As with every story I post, I hope to write more.

(Also, the 'stars' he was seeing was the reflection of her eyes up in the tree. Just in case you were wondering lol)

Hope y'all like!


End file.
